Hi hi!

Finally finished part 2!

Like everything else in my life, it took me a long time to get it down.

Also, before we start, insert warning here. I mean, at the moment, Kuro is about to be auctioned off for a less then pure reason. And while nothing really happens, if you're uncomfortable with even the idea, skip this chapter.

And with that out of the way, let's move it on!

ONWARDS!

Kuro decided that, as much as the first floor gave her a huge ass headache, she liked it much more then this place.

It was one large open room, with couches set in a circle around what looked to be a decently small glass table/stage. It looked just big enough for maybe two people to stand together. All around the room, there were many red doors in the dark purple wallpaper, with the floor itself cutting off to allow a balcony view of the floor below.

Seated all around, the demons began to speak in hushed whispers among each other. If the demons downstairs were considered rich, these guys seemed to be able to shit money.

Each looked more extravagant than the first, hair pushed and pulled into strange styles, clothing looking as if they had been made for only the richest to buy, since she was sure that pure gold stabled to cloth wasn't a dress code here.

Hell, the accessories these incubi wore looked like they had their own set of accessories.

Once they came by, one of them slowly rose, hands held out as if wanting a hug from an old friend, "Surith, oh, it's so good to see you!" The incubi grinned, teeth looking as if he had then cleaned then filed, before his blue eyes gave Kuro a look over, "And who might this minx be?"

Kuro shuddered at the sound of his voice. She'd take on the kidnapper before this creep any day.

"This is my sister in law, Xenieth." Vale introduced, handing over Kuro's hand as if handing off the bride to the groom.

The analogy almost made Kuro barf in her mouth.

The incubi before her, Nyryth without a doubt, wore what resembled a dark purple toga, the cloth draping over his shoulder and on the floor. His nails were filed into perfectly sharp points, just like his teeth, the only difference being the gold nail polish, "She'll be my offering for the bid."

"Surith, you devil, allowing someone like her to stand in as a bid!" Nyryth grinned, laughing.

To this, Kuro stiffened. Did he already know that there was no way she could fit in? Was all of this a ploy to allow Vale to get rid of her? What should she do? What could she do?

"You know I have a weakness for cat demons." Nyryth winked, before going back over to his chair, entertaining the other special guests.

It was at that moment that Kuro contemplated cutting of the ears, before giving Vale a look, "Wanna explain all of this to me?"

"You really are a dull one, aren't you?" Vale sighed, before leaning over to whisper in her ear, "Shax isn't able to give orders, so as of now, if it hasn't been obvious yet, you will follow what I have to say and do what I tell you to do. Is that understood?"

"Whatever, dad." Kuro hissed.

With a nod and without much of an explanation, Vale lead Kuro over to the others around the couches, most of them greeting him with friendly smiles.

As he sped through formal introductions, Kuro couldn't help but see how Shax and Vale were alike. She was sure that most of these incubi thought of Vale, no, "Surith" as a close friend. She could imagine how many of them had told him dark secrets? Depressing past stories?

Who knew, maybe they'd shared drinks and time with the guy, assuming that there really was no difference between a friend and the deceiver Vale was.

He did this better than she ever could.

"Ah, Heims, there you are!"

At the name, Kuro noticed the split second that Vale froze, his smile nearly turning into a grimace. Kuro noticed it, before turning around.

He'd walked out from one of the doors in the wall, with shoulder-length ice blue hair. His eyes were a bit too captivating, the pools of dark blue threatening to keep her hostage had she not looked away in time. He wore a lapis blue coat over a crisp white dress shirt and cobalt blue dress pants.

Out of the others up here (Kuro made a headcount of four, excluding Nyryth and this guy), he looked the most normal.

Kuro could see Vale whipping out something from his coat pocket, something that looked to be a handkerchief, but he quickly looked up to Kuro, giving her a command via glare.

Buy me some time.

Of course, with that said, the first thing that came to mind was to fuck with him. How hard would it be to just move a few inches to the left and let this guy see the tiger demon? It was probably a lot easier than buying time.

But, at the same time, if he got caught, she wouldn't be too far behind…

Without thinking, Kuro "accidentally" walked right into the broad man, doing her best to laugh nervously, which honestly wasn't too hard being that she was barely half his height, "Oh, pardon me, sir." She said with her best succubi accent.

To this, his eyebrow rose, "There is no problem." He said, voice very deep and commanding.

Kuro looked for a way to drag it on a bit longer, "I do apologize, I've yet to formally introduce myself." Kuro said, holding out the hand that wasn't holding her bag, "I'm Xenieth Vilinelin."

"Malmar Hiems." He said, shaking her hand formally. During said time, it took a lot of effort not to stare at how big his hand was. He was smaller than Zagan, no doubt, but that didn't mean that he wasn't intimidating, "Most here call me Winter."

"Ah, where did you run off to, Heims?" Nyryth asked, coming over with a large grin on his face, "I see you've met Xenieth."

"Surely we can skip formalities and go down to business." Winter sighed. As much as he tried to hide it, Kuro could tell that he wanted to be anywhere but here.

Hell, she was feeling the same.

But the way he stated his response, and that uneasy look Nyryth had on his face, for just a moment, it wasn't hard to tell that something was up.

Finally, Nyryth shook his head, "We can talk about that after the bids. But first, you must meet Surith!"

Kuro held her breathe for a moment, as Nyryth lead Winter over to Vale, who was furiously rubbing that tiny purple piece of cloth all over his face, "This is him! Surith, this is Hiems, the one I speak so highly of!"

Finally, Vale put the handkerchief back into his pocket, doing his best to keep a stone face, before reaching out to grab Winter's extended hand, "the famous Winter himself. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Kuro waited for...Well, she didn't really know. Maybe she waited for the recognition to settle in, or maybe for the doors to come down and ninjas to jump out, but after the greeting, Nyryth announced the beginning of the auction.

"What was that all about?" Kuro asked, as Vale took her hand and lead her to the couches, "You're over there panicking for no reason, only to have the guy not even remember you."

"It will be explained later." Vale murmured, whispering quietly, "For now, listen to me. You'll be a bid, meaning that they'll be putting money on you to buy you and…Well, I'm sure you know where it'll go from there."

"Are you mad!?" Kuro whispered screamed, a half-horrid half-irritated look on her face, "Why wasn't this explained?"

"Maybe it would be if you could stop asking questions for just a second." Vale growled, before sitting down, Kuro right next to him, "You're going to be the second one to go up. Knowing Nyryth, he'll bid his highest on you. While you're with him, you're going to do what you can to find out what Kroni wants done, or where he plans to go and be next. We can go from there."

"You expect me to just...You know!?" Kuro said, unable to bring herself to even speak of it.

"Of course not," Vale murmured, watching as Nyryth went up to the middle, before quickly whispering, "I'll give you fifteen minutes. Once you hear an explosion, we'll need to move. In the event that you have to set it off, do keep in mind that the trigger will explode within seconds of taking your finger off, acting like a mini-grenade."

He didn't even wait to ask and see if Kuro understood, before turning his attention to the incubi in the purple dress-not-dress.

"I thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come by." He said, his voice dripping with charisma, "Of course, I'm sure that you'd want to stay nowhere else when it comes to the parties we throw."

That statement earned a chuckle that was lost to Kuro. There was no joke, no punchline, what did he do to warrant such a reaction?

Even in the Rift, rich people were weird.

Nyryth then stepped down, allowing that guy from before, the deaf one, to step up and begin what Kuro assumed to be the main event.

"First we have bid #1." Saleos said, stepping to the side so that some succubi could walk up, showing off what skin wasn't covered, which was a lot considering she wasn't wearing much.

Hell, two belts would have covered up more.

While the lust-induced demons went on, Kuro noticed how Vale did what he could to hide how uneasy he was, a feeling she shared with him, for once.

She knew little to nothing on this Winter guy, but if it was enough to make someone like Vale agitated, he had to have done something big and messed up. Maybe she could ask about him later, if the need ever arose again.

She tried to read what she could from the big man, which really wasn't much. He sat in his chair with one leg over the other, his straight posture regal and nothing less. He looked like a noble, when she really thought about it, and acted like one as well.

"If the lovely bid #2 would be so kindly as to step up now."

At the number, Vale nudged Kuro's arm, who chuckled awkwardly, slowly standing up. This shouldn't be too hard, she'd had to do and act out much worse. Maybe it was because this was just a new category, she thought as she walked to the middle of the room, accepting Saleos' hand up onto the tiny stage/table, "This one is a rare specimen, not many cat demons left out there, making her quite the steal."

Kuro gulped, for once not finding it too difficult to play the part of the shy and slightly awkward young lady, as it was so often put.

They began to place money on her, see how much she'd be worth. She listened to the first few bids, only to scoff. She couldn't help but wonder how many would end up dead by the time this whole thing was over. Or no, maybe someone would pull the rug from underneath her and Vale. You could never know what someone else may have up their sleeve, especially when it came to the Rift.

Even more so when it came to her new line of work.

She held her bag tighter when Saleos finally grinned, "Congratulations to you, Nyryth, for winning her over!"

A small and courteous round of applause went through the room, before Nyryth stood before her, hand held out for her to take.

She (unwillingly and uncomfortably) did so, before taking a seat next to the incubi.

If just sitting next to him made he uneasy, how was she supposed to get information out of him?

Knowing she was on a time crunch, her mind raced, trying to find a way out of this, before an idea came to mind.

"Excuse me, sir?" Kuro said quietly, gaining Nyryth's attention.

"Is something wrong, sweet cheeks?"

It took a lot of willpower to make sure that she didn't barf up what food she'd managed to steal from Abraxas before going on, "I don't mean to be rude, but I'd really love to see what is inside one of those private rooms."

Nyryth seemed to understand, before quickly standing up, excusing himself while leading Kuro to one of the doors.

Once he opened one, she had one more chance to look over her shoulder at Vale, who mouthed two words.

"Be careful."

While he may be an asshole, it felt a tiny bit nice to know that there was a chance that he was just a bit worried about your general welfare. That, or maybe he wanted to see what would happen and was simply curious.

And, of course, you couldn't count out the fact that Vale was basically forcing her into auction-based prostitution.

In a way.

Either way, she quickly shot him a middle finger once she was sure no one else was looking, before walking into the room.

She was surprised when she heard something that almost sounded like a laugh, but it also sounded like it came from...No, it wasn't possible for Vale to make such a sound.

Nevertheless, Kuro stepped in, the door closing behind her.

There was too much red and dark pink.

The bed in the middle had a sort of Arabic feel to it with the drapes, the walls looking to be covered in the same material.

Just as Kuro hoped, there was a nice golden bottle sitting at the nightstand, as well as two fancy glasses.

Now, to get down to businasty.

"I don't mean to be rude!" Kuro murmured, averting her eyes when it looked like he was about to take off the toga, before grabbing the bottle, "I hope you don't mind, I've been looking for a reason to drink a lil' something."

"Oh, of course." Nyryth grinned, taking the bottle from her, as well as one of the glasses, pouring himself a rather generous amount of the dark red liquid, before throwing it all back down his throat.

Just as she hoped, he seemed to be quite fond of his drinks.

Kuro took a sniff, making sure that no one had thought ahead to slip in anything, before taking a tiny sip. Maybe she was just use to the crap that they served at Shax's bar, but this rich wine really wasn't doing her any favors.

Once the entire bottle was gone, Kuro did all she could to keep his hands off of her. At least, in what she assumed to be his drunken haze, he'd be easier to subdue if it came down to a fight.

"So, baby, how you wanna do this?" Nyryth asked, a small hiccup in his voice.

"Umm, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to get to know you, just a bit more." Kuro said sheepishly, knowing where she wanted to get, but not entirely sure how to get there, "I've heard stories of the great Nyryth."

"Oh, have ya, sweet cheeks?" Nyryth grinned, giving her a look. The longer he stared at her, the more she ached for the very special backup tool in her bag.

Not that she'd really be able to use it before acquiring what they needed, but the thought helped.

"I'm a bit curious, I guess you could say." Kuro smiled shyly, the only thing helping to keep her facade being the idea of beating Vale's face in after this, "You must work very hard to be able to live a lavish life out here in the Rift."

Next time, they send in Abraxas in a dress.

"I guess you could say that," Nyryth said, eyes looking misty. He swayed slightly from side to side, "I work with a rather powerful crowd, I guess you could say."

"Is that so?" Kuro asked, slowly moving to the side when Nyryth began to noticeably lean towards her, "I've been looking for a better type of job, if you could provide me some names, maybe I could do what I could to help?"

Kuro mentally gagged, a finger right under her lip as she tried her best to look cute and innocent.

That seemed to be enough, before Nyryth grinned, waving his hand off, "Well, anything to see you in the near future, sweet cheeks." His grinned, before leaning in closer, "But I'm sure that can wait until after our fun."

To this, Kuro cringed. No, she was so damn close, she just needed to know what was going down, she didn't get this far just to be...Ugh, she didn't want to say it.

In her sudden fit of rage, she pushed him down, pinning him. Her hands grabbed his wrists, legs holding down his at the knees, face a bit too close, being how she could smell the wine on his breathe, "I want names and plans. Now."

Thank Satan that he was intoxicated, or she was sure that Nyryth would call in someone for help. Instead, he giggled, "Oh, feisty I see. Okay, I'll give you what you want, only if you promise to pick this up where you last left it."

Kuro coughed, nodding, "Sure thing...Baby."

Just that seemed to be enough to get his drunken mind to comply with everything, before Nyryth grinned, "Well, if you gotta know, a lot of what I've got comes from my boss dude, Kroni."

Based on his slurred speech, Kuro assumed that she'd have a few more minutes before his mind went from the information she needed to use some other undesirable ideas.

"Heh, you'd be surprised." Nyryth boasted, as he tried to drink from the dry bottle, "I happen to work with the big leagues themselves, Hiems, Skinner, Kroni; they're all in on it."

"But what is it that they're trying to get?" Kuro asked, "What's the end goal here?"

"I don't know yet," Nyryth burped, giggling as he slowly laid back, looking more like a confused happy toddler then an incubi, "Kroni won't spill. All I know is that it's going to be big, and it's going down in Ahiania. Abeyance."

Kuro couldn't help but inwardly cheer and whoop, having finally gotten what she needed, only to have her spirits dropped. She got what she needed, now how would she get out?

Thankfully, someone out there decided for her.

The two jumped, an explosion going off outside, "Wha?" Was all Nyryth murmured, slumping to the ground once his foot left the bed, knocking out cold.

Well, Kuro thought, grabbing what she needed before going for the door, at least she got what she needed.

Outside was chaos.

There was no one else out on the terrace of the second floor, but the first floor was a mess. Everyone was dashing about, looking like they were searching for a way out. When Kuro focused on it, it looked like the hotel entrance had caved in, trapping everyone inside.

Kuro couldn't help but cringe. She knew that morality wasn't a strong point for any demon, especially when it came to her new group of friends, but this, in her opinion, was a bit much just to get the drop on some guy.

Even if said guy was Kroni himself.

She was about to make it out of the building, only to have something in her mind click. Even if it felt like hours, she had only been in the room for about four minutes, five at most. Vale wasn't supposed to set off the explosions yet.

Even with that said, Vale should have been out here by now, where was he?

Kuro nearly jumped when a loud thump sounded from behind a random door, kicking and screaming from behind.

Without thinking, Kuro rushed over, kicking down the door, a hand in her bag.

Vale was on the ground, a hand holding his forehead, while Saleos stood over him, the ticker trigger in one hand and a gun in the other, a wild look in his eye.

Saleos went from Vale to looking Kuro over, "You're both with Yoru!" He scowled, gun waving from the both of them.

Kuro took a side glance over to Vale, who was still on the ground, holding his hand over a gash on his face, eyes narrowed, "Saleos, are you willing to throw away our friendship over something as small as the assumption of-?"

"No, you won't entice me with pretty words twice." Saleos scowled, yet Kuro could see it. Vale must have set some pretty deep roots, since the demon looked like he was beginning to doubt himself, unsure if the demon was a true friend or not.

Vale scowled, moving to take the same handkerchief out of his pocket, presumably to wipe off the blood dripping from his forehead, only to have Saleos growl, "I knew it; drop the cloth."

Vale cursed under his breath, before tossing it to the side, looking more than irritated.

Saleos bent down, eyes kept on Kuro, who didn't dare to move, as he picked it up, looking it over, "To think that someone like you would have a piece of the original façade shawl. Your employer must supply you well."

Kuro didn't ask, ignoring the burning curiosity before sizing the demon up. With the way he held himself, it was clear to see that the only reason he might have been intimidating would be because of the gun he held. All in all, he looked broken, unsure what he'd do next.

Kuro's hand went behind her back, gripping the hilt of her personal knife as she did so.

She then noticed his other hand, finger still plugged down on the trigger. She didn't remember it perfectly, but it was stuck in the back of her head about how she should make sure that she threw the trigger after use, but why?

It must have been something bad if her crack-riddled mind chose to remember that tid bit of information.

Abraxas had hidden it under some of the folds of the dress, insisting that two weapons are always better than one.

If she could just time it right…

Once Saleos' gaze went from Vale to the door, Kuro struck. She threw the knife out, the blade becoming embedded in the wall behind Saleos, inches away from his face.

Stuck in his sudden stupor, Kuro rushed him, ducking when he fired, before kicking the hand holding the trigger.

She had assumed that, from something so small, the impending explosion wouldn't be that bad. At worse, she assumed that it would be enough to leave a scorch mark or less.

She didn't expect the force of the blast to throw her at the door, breath knocked out of her lungs, as she slide down, a bit dizzy.

Judging by the thud on the other side of the room, it didn't look like the trigger did Saleos any favors either.

Kuro did her best to shake off her headache, which really did everything but help, before walking over to Vale, who had just finished putting his handkerchief- or whatever it was back into his pocket.

Kuro helped his up, wincing at all the blood on his face, "My dude, Zuko just called, he's irritated you stole his look without needing the fire treatment."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but whatever it was, I'm sure that it was a stretch." Vale grumbled, before pressing down on his earpiece, "Thanks for the warning."

"In my defense, I didn't think that you'd want me to look into a room you willingly decided to enter with an incubi."

As tense as it felt in the building, Kuro couldn't help but laugh lightly. At least Abraxas knew how to lighten the mood, "If you think that something as stupid as that is a good reason, you have another think coming."

"Alright, jeez, calm down, Sherlock. I had to move positions, saw a few men with Winter walking out the back, could have sworn they saw me."

"What!? Did they move to intercept you?" Vale said, for once sounding a bit alarmed. It almost fit in with all the screaming that was still going on down in the first floor.

"I'm not sure, I was moving before I could see, but I don't think so."Kuro could hear, from her earpiece, the sound of Abraxas doing something between a sneeze and a sort of audible scowl, "Anywho, I'd suggest leaving through that exit in the back, or a window. A window wouldn't be much of a bad idea."

"Right." Vale murmured, about to push the door open, only to have his eyes widen, "Get down!"

Kuro didn't have any time to bicker with him, as she was shoved to the ground, a bullet flying over her head.

What happened next was like a blur.

While on the floor, she rolled to her knees, ripping open her bag. She watched as Saleos made a grab for Vale, managing to trip him, Vale falling to the ground.

As Kuro pulled the cool metal out of her bag, the grip feeling unnaturally warm for some reason, before taking aim.

After that, she kept pulling the trigger. She kept pulling it long after Saleos fell, his body twitching from pain, the bullets, or both.

She only stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, whipping around to give Vale a look. Said demon jolted, just a tiny bit, before taking the gun from her hands, "It's done, he's dead." Vale said calmly, which helped to calm her down, allowing her to let the breath the didn't know she was keeping in out, "We got what we needed, now we need to leave. It'll be a matter of minutes before they have a group come in. We will get caught if we stay, we need to move."

"Hey, Kit Kat? Come on, snap out of it."It was so odd, she could hear Abraxas, but at the same time, she couldn't really make out what he was trying to say.

Finally, Kuro shook her head, a hand pinching the bridge of her nose, before waving Vale off, "Quite pretending you care, I'm fine." She murmured, willing the ringing in her ears to go away, before looking over to the only window in the room, "Well, at least we don't have to use the front door." She smirked, retrieving her knife before slamming the bottom of the hilt into the glass.

A few more hits, and the cracks finally gave in, shattered glass hitting the ground a story below.

She gave the room one last look, staring at the red hole in Saleos' forehead, as well as the red pool that had begun to accumulate, before hopping out the window.

The moment the two of them got back, Shax was clearing up the bar counter, Abraxas and Zagan already there.

"Took you two long enough." Shax murmured, looking the two of them over, before wordlessly handing Vale the towel, who took it and began to clean his face from the now dried blood on his face, "I've had to keep a front for a while now, keeping those doors open for the two of you."

"I do apologize," Vale said, the tiniest bit of disdain in his tone. Kuro would have felt a little defensive for Shax, had it not been for the upwards tug on the line that was the bartender's mouth, "Next time, we'll do our best to work within your regulated schedule."

"Nothing less would be expected from someone as impeccable as you are on a systematically basis."

"Only you could make that sound like a good thing, fearless leader."

Once inside the room, Zagan moved to close the door, before leaning on it casually, as to make sure that no one would come in or get out.

"With that all out of the way," Shax murmured, sitting down at the meeting table. Today it was a chaotic mess of papers and maps, just as it had been before they'd left, "Did we get what we needed?"

For a moment, there was silence, before Vale elbowed her, causing her to speak, "Oh, my bad, I'm just so use to Vale usually answering that question."

"That just shows that we have you here for every other reason but your intellect." Abraxas teased, taking a seat to Shax's left, Vale sitting to the right, as per usual, "Hell, you can literally be anything but the brains."

"Oh, like you'd be any better." Kuro scowled, unsure why Abraxas was choosing now to bother her about something as stupid as this.

She didn't notice that almost unnatural calculating expression that the follower of Gluttony held, "Don't scowl. If you do it often enough, your face will freeze up like that."

"Like it would bother you." Kuro said, giving him one last glare as they all walked into the meeting room, before shooting him a cheeky grin, "I'd still be prettier than you."

To that smile, Abraxas looked as if he was trying not to sigh in relief, but it was quickly taken off of Kuro's mind when Shax cleared his throat, taking a seat at the front of the table, "So, if you'd please?"

Kuro then quickly went over what Nyryth had said, trying not to cringe from the memory that had been a bit too fresh to go ahead and laugh over.

"I heard gunshots," Abraxas finally pointed out, once Kuro was done, "Those were from you two?"

"Was there a fatality?" Shax pressed.

What Vale said was something she never thought she'd hear.

"That would be my fault."

Kuro could have sworn that she was hearing otherwise, or maybe there was some sort of toxic gas in that hotel she'd breathed in, but he kept going on, looking as stone-faced as usual, "I wanted to see what it could get out of Saleos, but things...got out of hand. He acquired my gun, and things spun out of control from there."

"Which explains the condition and state of your face." Shax murmured, turning to Kuro, "So it was you who shot the gun?"

"One shot. To the face." Kuro said, before making a finger gun and blowing over the top of it, playing it off in her own little fashion.

As if that was all Shax needed to know, he went on, "So, Nyryth's exact words were Ahiania Abeyance?"

"Technically, he said, and I quote, 'All I know is that it's going to be big, and it's going down in Ahiania. Abeyance'."

"And that is where we run into our first problem." Vale murmured, looking over what appeared to be a map, "There is nowhere in the Rift that is called Ahiania Abeyance."

"Oh…" Kuro murmured, scanning her head for ideas, before snapping her fingers, "What about within the capitol? There could be some gathering place with that name, like a square or something."

"Nothing there either." Shax frowned, looking over the same map as Vale, "Besides, even if there was, it wouldn't be a smart move to head into the capitol for Rifter business. They'd get caught within seconds."

"Unless they were us!" Abraxas grinned, popping open a bottle, "They don't have the technique and skill that we use when we're offing officials."

"You sit on your ass on the top of some tower and wait." Zagan deadpanned.

"Hey, don't you go around believing that it's easy to just sit in one place for too long!" Abraxas grumbled, taking a long sip, before going on, "It's boring."

"Back to the problem at hand, gents." Shax murmured, before pulling off of the map, "It has to be within Hell, but it's not in the Rift or the capitol."

All the while, Kuro drummed her fingers on the table, looking confused and bored, "Umm, can I ask a stupid question?"

"No."

"I wasn't asking you, cantankerous one." Kuro scowled, before going on, "When it comes to that name, it seems like it's a pretty long title for some place, right?"

"It's really not."

"Can it, Abra Ka Dabra." Kuro glowered, before clearing her throat, "Going on, since most places here have other meanings in other languages, what do you think Abeyance means?"

The quiet almost made Kuro grin. She didn't expect an answer from her stupid question, it was just meant to ease the growing tension in the room.

But, instead, once again, Vale looked up at her and said more words she never thought she'd hear from him.

"Kuro, you're a genius."

"...Huh?"

"That's a code word." Shax murmured, looking about the maps, before shaking his head, "It's not within the Rift. Zagan, get me the maps of Limbo."

"Where is that?" Kuro asked, watching the brute lumber off to the side of the room, looking through the rather filled bookshelf she hadn't noticed until now, possibly due to the fact that she wasn't the most literate. Also, it blended in with the wall, "Last I checked, there aren't any cities named 'Limbo'."

"...Forget what I said earlier." Vale murmured to himself, as Zagan grabbed a map, "But, either way, you just gave us the answer we were looking for. You just gave us the answer. Abeyance means to be held or kept in suspension. Where else in hell are demons and souls kept in holding or waiting?"

"Well that's easy, in Purgatory." Kuro stated, before it clicked, "Oh, my bad. I heard Limbo and thought of the stupid dance-game thingy."

"Ahiania, to be precise." Shax corrected, laying out the map that Zagan had retrieved, before grabbing a pen, circling one part of the map, "That's where it'll be, whatever it is."

"Winter throws a wrench into the plans and idea." Vale scowled, eyebrows showing how irritated and confused he was, "At first I assumed a meeting with Kroni's team would lead to some sort of weapons dealing, but if Winter is involved…"

"It's that much more important that they do not enter or complete any type of transaction." Shax murmured, deep in thought as he looked over everything, before turning to face Kuro, "Did Nyryth say anything else?"

"Nope." Kuro said, before shivering, "Well, nothing that you'd want to hear come out of my mouth."

"Respectable." Shax murmured, before going back to making sense of the notes before him with Vale.

When Zagan left to do some recon, it was then that it hit her.

She'd heard all about butcher's remorse, as she kindly put it, from humans during her short-lived contracts, each being more boring than the last.

It was always the same idea; kill this guy or find this person, and boom, easy soul.

But she'd never killed another demon before.

She went through what she was dubbing assassin's lunacy, that mixed feeling of not wanting/being able to stop and feeling empowered, but once that faded, she felt no different from any other day in her life.

She had assumed she felt nothing due to the adrenaline, or maybe it was simple as the whole situation going over too quickly, but now that the danger had passed, she realized that she felt no remorse. If anything, it was the exact opposite from remorse.

She felt almost blissful.

It was otherworldly, now that she thought it over, to take a demon's life. A being that seemed to have no weaknesses, killed by someone they never really saw coming.

She now wondered why she never went this far back then, only to shake her head.

It was definitely because she couldn't get her hands on the right gun and bullets.

All the while, Abraxas watched from afar, the only one out of the three to notice the small almost psychotic giggles that left her mouth, the way her eyes were a bit too wide and her fingers were twitching.

She was going through a sort of high, something he understood since it was the same for him and his first kill.

A small smirk played over his lips, looking over to make sure that Shax and Vale were invested in the notes and information they'd gathered, before leaving the room.

While he was happy that the kill hadn't broken her, it would have been a pain to look for someone else to see this all the way through, it was a bit more than pleasing to see that she seemed to enjoy it.

That was the type of mentality you needed to be a sniper for this team, and he was more than happy to step down.

When the time was right.

For the record, when I was writing this up, it didn't seem like that long of a chapter...

...Whoops.

Can't wait for the next chapter, finally gonna get some of that much needed Corvus and Kuro fluff. Of course, I'm not much good at writing fluff, so this could also be the most awkward chapter yet.

Either way, much fun for someone!

Any who, I hope you guys enjoyed, feel free to leave a review, and I'll cya guys next chapter!

Till next time, bai bai!